You know you need to lose weight when excessive amounts of body fat threaten your health. Excessive body fat can give rise to serious medical conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, stroke and sleep apnoea. The risks posed by obesity-linked health disorders make significant weight loss essential. Obesity can be determined using a measurement known as Body Mass Index (BMI). A BMI of 30 or more is an indicator of obesity. You can achieve optimum weight loss if you burn more calories than you consume. Incorporating lifestyle modifications such as a well-balanced low-calorie diet and regular exercise into your daily routine is the key for better and healthier weight loss

Better weight loss methods
Exercise is essential because it helps to burn and keep off the extra calories that a restricted diet cannot do by itself. It also offers a number of health benefits such as greater immunity, a strengthened cardiovascular system, lower blood pressure and enhanced mood. Regular exercise also enables you to maintain the weight loss you have achieved through calorie restriction. A number of studies have shown that people who have achieved and maintained long term weight loss have done so through daily physical activity of some kind. In contrast, the weight that is lost by crash dieting or following fad diets is quickly regained within a period of six months after you return to your normal diet.

Xenical – A medication that assists weight loss
Containing the active ingredient orlistat, Xenical works as a lipase inhibitor to restrict the action of lipase, an enzyme that assists in the digestion of fats in your intestines. Xenical prevents the absorption of about one-third of the dietary fats in your body. The unabsorbed fat passes through the digestive system and is then eliminated through bowel movements. However, the unabsorbed fats can sometimes cause flatulence, gas, stomach cramps, diarrhoea and oily or loose stools. Xenical is also known to inhibit the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K and beta carotene, and you might need to take vitamin supplements to fulfil this deficiency. The side effects of Xenical are usually temporary in nature and can largely be avoided if you take low-calorie meals which contain no more than 30% of fat.

Weight loss medications such as Xenical (orlistat) are usually recommended for people having a BMI of 30 or more or a BMI of 27 along with obesity-related health conditions such as type-2 diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure. Your doctor will prescribe Xenical weight loss drug only if you are unable to lose weight through conventional weight loss methods such as a low-calorie diet, behaviour modification or regular exercise. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss your medical history with you healthcare provider and carefully evaluate the potential benefits and risks of a particular drug therapy before taking any weight loss medication. It is essential that you set realistic and long term weight loss goals before commencing your treatment with Xenical or any other anti-obesity medication.

Xenical is available in the form of capsules of 120mg and should be taken with all the three main meals of the day; it can be taken during a meal or up to an hour after the meal. Yu can skip your Xenical dosage if you skip a meal or if your meal does not contain any fat. You will experience noticeable weight loss within a period of 2 weeks, which will continue for about 6-12 months. Your doctor might not repeat the prescription for Xenical if you lose less than 2 kg during the first month of your Xenical treatment. Losing 10-15% of the total body weight signifies a good response to Xenical, while weight loss that exceeds 15% is deemed to be an excellent response.